Vaping Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Dental Hygienists Could Aid Tobacco Cessation Under Senate Bill

On Thursday, the West Virginia Senate voted unanimously to grant dental hygienists legal permission to provide clients tobacco cessation services.

Dental hygienists might soon be able to provide their clients tobacco cessation services. But their legal ability to do so first depends on a vote from the West Virginia House of Delegates, after unanimous approval from the West Virginia Senate on Thursday.

Senate Bill 357 places tobacco cessation services within the practice of dental hygienists, given the negative effects tobacco consumption can have on dental health.

Earlier this week, a report released by the American Lung Association found that West Virginia has the lowest ranking possible in tobacco prevention funding and access to tobacco cessation services.

Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier, sponsored the bill alongside Sen. Michael Maroney, R-Marshall. Deeds described it as an effort to expand tobacco cessation resources available for West Virginians.

Deeds said that dental providers are particularly equipped to offer insight into the dangers of tobacco consumption and vaping because they see its after-effects frequently.

Dental hygienists “have an opportunity to educate everyone about their dental health,” Deeds said. “They see the side effects from any kind of tobacco, whether it’s the smokeless tobacco or the vapes.”

In particular, Deeds said that the rise in vape consumption among youth and teenagers warrants new educational resources regarding the dangers of smoking.

“Young people are exposed to a lot of tobacco products through vapes,” Deeds said. “We hope that this is an initial step of educating our young people.”

Annual Anti-Tobacco Summit Aims To Slow Nicotine Use In Teens

An annual event is set to educate more than 600 youth from across West Virginia about the dangers of nicotine use.

West Virginia’s Raze will host the 2023 Raze Youth Summit on Oct.18th at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.

Raze is a teen anti-tobacco campaign funded and facilitated by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, the Center for Disease Control Prevention and the American Lung Association (ALA).

The event will include educational sessions on building strong mental well-being, a crucial aspect to remaining tobacco-free, according to the ALA.

Chaste Barclay is the Director of Health Promotions at the ALA and oversees youth programs in West Virginia, among other states.

“What a lot of teens, and even parents and grandparents that maybe aren’t as familiar with the products, know that in one vape pod, you have the equivalent of the amount of nicotine is the equivalent of 20 cigarettes,” Barclay said. “So the level of nicotine is quite high. And with teenagers their brains are still developing, it alters their brain chemistry, it makes them more susceptible down the road to other addictions and potential issues with that.”

Additionally, attendees will gain insights and strategies to help effectively navigate peer pressure.

Raze Advisor Eugenia Reesman from East Fairmont High School in Pleasant Valley said she is continually inspired by the passion and dedication of her crew members.

“The summit provides a platform for these remarkable students to drive positive change and equips them with the tools they need to lead tobacco-free lives through education, empowerment and innovation,” Reesman said.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

State Officials Aim To Stop Vaping Before It Starts

A new initiative aims to curb rates of vaping among West Virginia’s teenagers.

West Virginia State Health Officer Matthew Christiansen announced the “West Virginia’s clear future, don’t let vaping cloud it,” campaign, a statewide initiative to stop kids from trying electronic cigarettes.

The initiative will offer CATCH My Breath vaping prevention curriculum to every county in the state over the next three years.

The first year of the program will focus on middle schools, as data indicates the optimal time to prevent e-cigarette experimentation is by the age of 14.

The 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that a total of 50.1 percent of U.S. high school students had used an e-cigarette product in their lifetime, and 32.7 percent had used an e-cigarette product in the past 30 days.

“In 2021, almost half of high school students reported either current or past use of e-cigarettes and vaping products,” Christiansen said. “This has really become a new addictive product on the scene that we’ve known that we have to really address and get to the bottom of.”

The announcement was made during Gov. Jim Justice’s weekly media briefing with State Superintendent of Schools Michele Blatt.

According to a study from the National Library of Medicine, teen use of cigarettes has declined greatly. However, adolescents’ use of alternative tobacco products has risen rapidly, largely due to the popularity of e-cigarettes.

“I truly believe that our students think that vaping is safer than cigarettes and that it’s not going to do the damage to their health as they do with cigarettes because it is so new,” Blatt said. “My goal, my hope is with this program and our partnerships, that we’ll be able to inform our students of the health risks, and the dangers of vaping and be able to catch a lot of those middle school students before they do get addicted to these various things.”

Teachers and counselors will need to agree to serve as facilitators of the CATCH My Breath program and receive a free two-day, six-hour, online learning course to prepare them to present the curriculum. They will then act as facilitators to deliver four 40-minute sessions to students over a four-week period.

The DHHR’s Division of Tobacco Prevention is working in collaboration with the American Lung Association and Partners in Health Network to identify and contact schools. Other partners include the Pallottine Foundation of Huntington, West Virginia and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

W.Va. Governor Asked To End Sales Of Flavored Vaping Products

A West Virginia state senator has asked Gov. Jim Justice to end sales of flavored e-cigarette products.

Monongalia County Democrat Bob Beach asked Justice in a letter to issue an executive order declaring vaping to be a public health emergency.

A spokesman for the Republican governor didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Department of Health and Human Resources spokeswoman Allison Adler says there have been eight confirmed or probable cases of pulmonary illness associated with vaping statewide.

In Beach’s home district, police in Morgantown said last week they identified a source of suspected heroin-laced vaping solutions while investigating overdoses that sickened two high school students.

The Trump administration in September proposed a nationwide ban on flavored e-cigarettes. An announcement from the Food and Drug Administration is expected soon.

W.Va. Woman Sues JUUL for Targeting Teens

A West Virginia woman has sued the nation’s largest e-cigarette maker, claiming the company uses a deceptive marketing campaign to intentionally target teenagers.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Charleston. It names San Francisco-based Juul Labs along with Altria Group and Philip Morris USA.

The lawsuit claims Juul violates state consumer protection law by using fraudulent and deceptive marketing practices to “exploit themes that resonated with teenagers.

Plaintiff’s attorney Brett Preston says parents are finding nicotine Juul pods in their children’s backpacks and bedrooms that are meant to resemble USB drives.

The plaintiff is identified only by her initials. The lawsuit says her 16-year-old child is addicted to Juul products.

Spokesmen for the defendants said the lawsuit is without merit.

Vaping Ban Begins at West Virginia University

A ban on electronic cigarettes and vaping products has started at West Virginia University.

The WVU Board of Governors in February approved the ban that took effect Thursday, Aug. 1. The policy applies to WVU properties in Morgantown, Beckley and Keyser.

The only exception will be in designated smoking areas at large athletic events.

Students found in violation of the policy are subject to conduct proceedings and sanctions. Faculty and staff members would also face disciplinary actions, while visitors in violation will be asked to leave campus.

The university passed a smoking ban earlier this decade.